[@Estylwen] [@WhiteAngel25]

Stella was right, there seemed to be tons of masks all over the place, now that he looked closer. However, he was beginning to think that maybe #3 shouldn't have the mask and continued to trade with her regardless. He felt this as she seemed [i]fragile[/i]. And after further looking, most of the other masks seemed broken or missing decorative parts. A broken mask didn't seem as useful as one that wasn't.

Nick paid no mind as Stella headed down the right set of stairs. He focused in on #3, [b]"Memory AI?"[/b] He repeated #3's words before continuing, [b]"I've had a few... [i]run-ins[/i]."[/b]

He wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but it was all starting to come together. The information he'd been given about HiveMind from his spouse, the collar around #3s neck, the Memory AI. There was absolutely no way in hell that this was an ancient dig site like HiveMind had tried to convince him of. Something else was going on here, but what?

The ground shook again. [i]Great, another tremor.[/i] Nick thought to himself as he examined the newly acquired mask. It seemed as though the frequency for the earthquakes were increasing over time. He'd already counted 25 of them, not counting mini tremors. It was all very alarming, if he was to be honest with himself. He just couldn't figure out why HiveMind wanted an ancient ruins explorer, or more specifically, [i]him [/i]down here.

The Mask from Provadia seemed to be in near perfect condition. It glowed in his hands. A strange shade that was similar to the orb that still rested above the dead man. With the information he'd already known about Provadia, Nick didn't hesitate to put the mask up to his face. It was a well established belief that the masks were either for necklaces or masks. This mask's string attachment wasn't long enough to be a necklace by any means. 

The glow from inside the mask made him dizzy. It was as if he was wearing a VR mask. It wasn't showing Nick memories from the dead man as he'd thought it would do. [i]It was showing him his own.[/i] The memories seemed to not be in chronological order. It was almost as if putting the mask on was like him uploading his very mind to the device. Dumb little stuff, stupid shit he'd said, his senior class field trip, embarrassing things- [i]the day he'd met his spouse[/i]. All the memories that flashed before him however, the ones that stood out the most, were ones of great sorrow. Seemed almost as if the dead man was trying to explain the sadness he felt through Nick's own memories. They dug pretty deep and reliving some of them in this manor, almost broke him. A seasoned [i]gunman[/i]: in [i]tears[/i].

Nick removed the mask as the last argument with his spouse started up. He'd seen enough. He'd broken out in cold sweat. He looked down at #3, terrified she'd had a hold of the device. If it was able to damn near break him, he could only imagine the emotional damage it could do to someone as seemingly fragile as her, [b]"I'll hold onto this for you, alright? You can keep Ivaylo."[/b]

And he didn't want anybody getting a literal hold of his mind... if that was what HiveMind was after. Secrets of the Temple of Karnak? Hamunaptra: The City of the Dead. His spouse's work information? Louvre secrets.

He calmly put the earpiece back in his ear, wiping cold sweat from his forehead, [b]"You realize you're not going to get away with this, [i]right[/i]? Killing off a group of researchers that..."[/b] He paused, [b]"[i]Didn't [/i]work for you? The Louvre Museum, The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and their many allies. [i]They know[/i]. That's the only reason I was able to sign on with you. Intelligence. They've always considered me [i]above the A game[/i]. And if you didn't know before... Just know that [i]you're a fool[/i] if you think you can win this. Monopolizing the energy crisis [i]by causing the energy crisis[/i] isn't going to work. How do I know this?"[/b]

[b]"Because [i]I'm [/i]involved. And I'm [i]pissed[/i]."[/b] He stormed out of the former research center. He wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of lab geeks, but felt their safety still mattered on and off the field as well. They were people too after all.

Buzzing overhead got louder, [i]perfect[/i]. Target practice. He pulled out a 6 gauge shotgun from his utility watch and called out, [b]"[i]Stella[/i], we need to figure out what the scientists here were working on. Whatever it is, I think it's what's causing the tremors. I think it may be in some kind of energy device and is in critical mode about to blow. And we [i]can't [/i]let HiveMind get ahold of the research."[/b]

Three drones down... Only [i]God himself[/i] knows how many are left.